Chapter 6

At dusk, the sweat on the girl's face shimmered with a honeyed glow under the orange sunset.

Yan Zhi sat up from the ground, his gaze quickly scanning the loose bandages wrapped around his body, then lifting his eyes to look at Li Mianyu. His eyes were calm and clear. He looked at her without speaking, then slowly nodded.

Li Mianyu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that sitting on the ground was rather undignified, and planned to stand up. But Yan Zhi had already awakened. No longer needing to worry about his life, the pain in her foot, which she had ignored all morning, suddenly overwhelmed her, threatening to consume her.

She could barely bear the pain; tears welled up instantly in her eyes. Looking down at her foot, she saw that her shoe, somewhere lost after she fell asleep, was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t wearing socks, only the bandages Yan Zhi had wrapped around her foot, stained with a bit of blood.

Seeing the bloodstain made Li Mianyu dizzy again. Then she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything all day and felt weak. She looked at her young bodyguard with some grievance. “I haven’t eaten all day. I have no strength left to walk.”

Yan Zhi was clearly much better than in the morning, his complexion less pale. Supporting himself with his hands, he stood up.

In two strides, he bent down, his long, strong arms slipping under Li Mianyu’s knees, effortlessly lifting her up.

Li Mianyu naturally draped her arms around her bodyguard’s neck. Her black hair swayed in his arms, and a few strands fluttered onto Yan Zhi’s face in the breeze.

Yan Zhi instinctively glanced down at Li Mianyu. Her face was still showing a hint of distress as she lowered her eyelashes to stare at her foot. He followed her gaze.

Her long skirt concealed her legs, revealing only the two bandaged feet, wrapped like dumplings, stained with blood—just the sight was painful.

Yan Zhi bent down, picked up Li Mianyu’s embroidered shoe, and carried her back into the dormitory. The bamboo bed was empty. He turned toward the table, intending to place Li Mianyu on the bench first, but then he noticed the loquats and cakes arranged there.

Behind Nanqing Temple’s mountain, a few wild loquat trees had borne fruit, now ripe. The abbot often picked them as offerings. The cakes were corn cakes, a common offering made by the abbot.

These items should not have appeared here.

Yan Zhi looked down at the person in his arms. The young man’s handsome face bore clear, slightly raised eyes, as if questioning.

Li Mianyu had also noticed the offerings on the table. Her cheeks flushed, and she struggled a little in Yan Zhi’s arms. “Put me down!”

Yan Zhi set her on the bench, but his gaze remained fixed on the offerings.

Li Mianyu’s face was very red, but her brows furrowed. “I don’t know where these came from. I was asleep when you carried me, so maybe the abbot came back and left them.” She feigned ignorance but clenched her sleeve tightly.

She would never let her young bodyguard know that she, a princess, had taken offerings.

Yan Zhi lowered his head, picked up a loquat, and pondered seriously, “Perhaps the Buddha has shown a sign.”

Li Mianyu breathed out, relieved. “Yes, it must be that.”

Yan Zhi raised his dark eyes to look at her again. His black eyes and red lips made his gaze piercing when focused on someone, making Li Mianyu nervous.

Fortunately, Yan Zhi quickly averted his gaze and went out with the loquat.

When he returned, he held a bowl with the loquats washed and peeled inside. He handed the bowl to Li Mianyu. Seeing the golden orange flesh, her mouth watered, and she quickly accepted it.

Since yesterday, everything had happened so suddenly. Only now did Li Mianyu truly realize how hungry and thirsty she was, but...

She looked down at her hands and whispered, “My hands are so dirty. I haven’t brushed my teeth or rinsed my mouth yet.” Then she stretched out her hand for Yan Zhi to see.

Yan Zhi looked at her ten white, tender fingers stretched before him but said nothing. He went out again, soon returning with a wooden bucket and a basin.

Li Mianyu recognized the bucket she had accidentally dropped into the well, wondering how Yan Zhi had retrieved it.

She blushed, realizing Yan Zhi must know she’d dropped it in. She wondered if he thought her foolish, stealing a glance at him.

Yan Zhi noticed her gaze.

Li Mianyu quickly withdrew her eyes and watched as Yan Zhi brought the water to her. There was no basin or soap.

He placed the wooden basin below and tilted the water over her hands. Though a bit rough, Li Mianyu was stunned before she stretched out her hands under the flow.

The well water fell slowly, clear and cool. She cupped the water to wash her fingers, then rinsed her mouth and face. She wanted a cloth to dry but felt embarrassed to ask Yan Zhi to fetch one from her bundle. So she shook off her wet face and hands gently.

Li Mianyu then picked up a loquat to eat.

But then she remembered—she had “taken” it from the Buddha to give to Yan Zhi. Would the Buddha be angry if she ate it?

She offered the loquat to Yan Zhi. “You eat first.”

Yan Zhi thought this was a princess’s custom, that someone needed to taste it first. He took it and put it into his mouth.

“How is it?” Li Mianyu asked immediately.

Yan Zhi paused, his bright black eyes meeting hers. “It’s okay.”

Only then did Li Mianyu pick up another fruit and put it in her mouth, but within a moment, tears streamed down her face—so sour she couldn’t speak, her eyes and nose scrunched up in a ball.

She looked at Yan Zhi tearfully.

But Yan Zhi had already turned away, moving toward the wardrobe. He took out a black martial robe, tied up the loose bandages a bit, and put on the robe. Then he fetched a clean bedsheet and duvet cover, laid them on the bed, went outside, picked up the blanket from the ground, shook it vigorously, and brought it back inside.

He changed the sheets and made the bamboo bed neat again.

Yan Zhi, holding the dirty sheets he’d removed along with Li Mianyu’s discarded outer garment, was about to leave when Li Mianyu, having recovered from the sour loquat, called after him, “Where are you going?”

“To the kitchen to get some food, then to the spring on the mountain to fetch some fresh water,” he said, his voice clear as ringing metal, his gaze pure.

Li Mianyu bit her lip. She didn’t want Yan Zhi to go too far, but her foot hurt badly and she couldn’t walk the mountain path. She hesitated, saying nothing immediately.

Yan Zhi looked at her. “It’s close by. I’ll be back soon.”

Before she could reply, her stomach grumbled loudly. Embarrassed by the crude sound, her cheeks reddened again. Pretending nothing had happened, she straightened her back and said naturally, “Then go ahead.”

Yan Zhi left.

As soon as he was gone, Li Mianyu’s back slumped. She rubbed her stomach and looked at the loquats left in the bowl. She couldn’t bear to eat more, and the cakes looked too dry to swallow.

Besides, the food was meant for her bodyguard. She would wait for Yan Zhi to bring her something to eat.

---

Yan Zhi knew the temple kitchen well. He opened the door. The abbot had probably been away for a couple of days. The kitchen was clean, free of dust, and the water jar was half full.

He rummaged around and found some rice and flour but nothing else. The temple had no meat or fish.

He thought for a moment, rinsed the rice, started cooking, then took a wooden bucket and went to the mountain.

When he returned, he carried the bucket filled with fresh spring water in one hand and two plucked, gutted wild mountain chickens in the other. At the stove, he also pulled out several wild eggs from his clothes.

Li Mianyu sat on the bench, bored and increasingly hungry. She craned her neck to look outside, wondering why Yan Zhi was taking so long.

At first, she just muttered in her heart, but as time passed, she grew restless and anxious. Her mind ran wild, worrying that Yan Zhi might have fainted again or that the pursuers were still fighting him nearby.

She wanted to go find her bodyguard. Her hands clenched tightly, and after waiting a while longer, she was about to get up.

Just then, a fragrant aroma wafted in from outside.

Li Mianyu felt she had never smelled such a delightful scent in her life. She inhaled deeply, her eyes lighting up as she stretched her neck to look out.

The young bodyguard walked steadily toward her, carrying a tray bathed in the sunset glow.

Li Mianyu swallowed nervously but maintained her princess dignity, pulling back her neck before he stepped in. Then, as if just hearing a sound, she tilted her head shyly and couldn’t help but say, “What did you make? It smells so good.”

Her almond-shaped eyes were moist, shimmering with tiny stars as she looked at him.

Yan Zhi paused briefly, then walked over to set the tray on the table. “Caught two wild mountain chickens on the mountain and gathered some eggs.”

Eager, Li Mianyu peered inside. She had never seen such a battered yet huge bowl, nearly the size of a basin, with a chipped edge. It was filled with braised chicken pieces and several peeled eggs stewed together, alongside two large bowls of rice. The rice was yellowish, unlike the pure white she was used to.

Seeing her hesitant gaze on the rice, Yan Zhi took a tea cup from the table, rinsed it with the spring water from the teapot, poured her a bowl, and said clearly, “Life in the temple is simple. We often eat brown rice and cornmeal.”

Li Mianyu nodded, blushing for not recognizing brown rice, and took the coarse tea bowl.

Though very thirsty, she still sipped carefully and slowly.

After finishing, she smiled faintly, eyes shining. “Yan Zhi, this water is sweet. Have you tasted it?”

The young man looked at her and nodded.

Seeing him still standing nearby, she gestured to the side, “Sit down.”

Yan Zhi sat beside her and placed a large bowl of rice with wooden chopsticks in front of Li Mianyu.

She looked at the bowl, bigger than her face. “I can’t eat this much.”

Yan Zhi said, “Princess, you eat first. If you can’t finish, there’s me.”

Li Mianyu was taken aback. She had never let Aunt Qingling eat her leftovers in the palace, much less her bodyguard.

She wanted to push some rice into his bowl but saw his was even bigger, piled high like a small mountain.

Breathing in the aroma of the chicken, she could no longer resist. Picking up the chopsticks, she grabbed a piece of chicken, and tears welled up in her eyes from emotion. She had never tasted such fresh, delicious chicken in the palace.

She ate well, small bites despite her hunger, savoring slowly.

Yan Zhi watched her, unaware why tears glistened in her eyes—was his cooking bad?

After a bite of the delicious chicken, Li Mianyu looked up at him, eyes sparkling. “It’s tasty.”

She lowered her head to eat some rice. The moment it entered her mouth, she paused, having not moved for a long while, then chewed slowly and swallowed after some time.

She touched her throat, feeling as if she had swallowed grit—so coarse it hurt.

“This rice is so hard,” Li Mianyu said, tears welling again.

The bodyguard said nothing, looking up at her, “This is all the temple has.”

Li Mianyu had been cherished by the emperor since childhood. In the palace, Aunt Qingling catered to her every whim, and she had never tasted hardship. Now, clutching her chopsticks, she was speechless. Just thinking that even Aunt Qingling might not have such food made her unable to refuse eating.

She kept her head down, silent, taking another bite, chewing a long time before swallowing. When she looked up again, her face was wet with tears. “It’s still okay.”

Just endure a while. Once she returned to her grandfather the emperor, everything would be as before.

She picked up an egg but hesitated before biting. From the corner of her eye, she saw Yan Zhi sitting quietly, not touching his chopsticks. She wanted to share but stopped herself.

They didn’t share chopsticks or put them in the same bowl.

Yan Zhi understood her hesitation and said, “Princess, you eat first.”

Li Mianyu blushed but said nothing, burying her face in her food.

She ate for a long time. The chicken dish was only slightly diminished, and the rice less so.

She instinctively reached for a cloth to wipe her mouth but remembered it was in her bundle and resisted. She looked at Yan Zhi. “I’m done.”

Only then did Yan Zhi begin to eat. He was a young man, still growing. Though not rough, he ate swiftly.

Li Mianyu was nearly speechless watching him devour the mountain of rice in moments, leaving the bowl spotless.

When Yan Zhi looked at her leftover rice and glanced at her as if asking something, she silently pushed her remaining food toward him.

Yan Zhi quickly swept it all away, along with the chicken and even the two corn cakes and small bowl of loquats. He ate the sour loquats without changing expression.

Li Mianyu couldn’t help but glance at Yan Zhi’s stomach. She remembered seeing him without his robe earlier—a slender waist, a flat belly. How could he hold so much food?

Then she recalled how strong her bodyguard was, effortlessly carrying her all night without panting. Eating so much was no surprise.

After the meal, Yan Zhi did not wash the dishes immediately but spoke a rare long sentence to Li Mianyu: “There were two groups searching for the princess yesterday. One was likely rebel troops; the other bodyguards of unknown affiliation. Do you know anything about this?”

Li Mianyu tensed and shook her head. “No.”

Yan Zhi said, “We’ll rest here tonight. Tomorrow I’ll go out and inquire about the current situation.”

Li Mianyu nodded at first, then shook her head. In a low voice, she said, “I don’t dare stay here alone.”

If Yan Zhi left and the captors found this place, it would be like a trapped turtle in a jar. Besides, she wanted to know news of her grandfather immediately.

But her foot was injured; she couldn’t walk far or follow Yan Zhi.

Her eyes grew moist again as she looked at him. He was frowning, his fierce, wild brows furrowed, his expression harsh, as if annoyed by her trouble.

She was instantly annoyed. Before she could say “How dare you,” her young bodyguard said softly, “Tomorrow I’ll go to the beggars’ den to ask around. It’s full of beggars like the Twelfth Prince, who’s like someone crawling through dung.”

Li Mianyu’s breath caught. “...Then maybe it’s better if I stay in the mountains.”

Yan Zhi took the dishes to wash, while Li Mianyu remained lost in thought.

The Twelfth Prince was already her nightmare. Just thinking of him made her stomach ache slightly. She rubbed her belly, trying hard to drive the prince out of her mind.

But the more she tried to forget, the worse the pain grew.

Li Mianyu frowned faintly, then suddenly clutched her stomach, her face flushed bright red.